


Report 83646

by PapayaK



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Angst, Blood, Episode: s06e06 Abyss, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Team, Tokra, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-25
Updated: 2014-09-30
Packaged: 2018-02-18 18:32:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2357966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PapayaK/pseuds/PapayaK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just our team bein' fabulous! Jack is captured, tortured and escapes in an unexpected way. This is basically a tribute to SG-1. Jack Whump, hints of S-J<br/>A report on a mission.  Colonel O’Neill, (and friend) is captured, tortured and manages to escape in a rather unorthodox way.  By the way – it’s a dumb name – I couldn’t think of anything better.<br/>Warnings: Torture, Blood, Gore – Much darker than I usually like.  Be prepared.  It freaked ME a little when I went back and read it, and I wrote it.  I’ll explain where this all came from after you’ve read it.<br/>As always – Please Feed the Writers!!!<br/>(we’re always starving for it)<br/>Disclaimer: Don’t own ‘em.  Just having fun.<br/>P.S. I only write original characters when they are able to highlight our team from a fresh perspective.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Title: Report 83646  
Author: PapayaK  
Category: Hurt-Comfort, Angst, more Hurt – a hint of team, cause I can’t leave them out of anything.  
Spoilers: Abyss, Tokra  
Summary: A report on a mission. Colonel O’Neill, (and friend) is captured, tortured and manages to escape in a rather unorthodox way. By the way – it’s a dumb name – I couldn’t think of anything better. Can You?Warnings: Torture, Blood, Gore – Much darker than I usually like. Be prepared. It freaked ME a little when I went back and read it, and I wrote it. I’ll explain where this all came from after you’ve read it.  
As always – Please Feed the Writers!!!  
(we’re always starving for it)  
Disclaimer: Don’t own ‘em. Just having fun.

oO0Oo  
Report 83646 – Chapter 1  
oO0Oo

Hello, my name is Gina. This is my report of what happened on P4X 394 and in the days following. This is my first report.

Jesha says I’m not supposed to write that. But I want you to know that I am writing this report, not her. 

I am Tok’ra. I am now twenty-one years old, and I was one of the first members of Operation Host, a little known effort to save both the lives of the Tok’ra and those of us, (very) select few, who were both terminally ill and without too many ties to this world. 

I was approached by a very nice Air Force Captain at what was expected to be my last chemo treatment; and not because I was cured. To my shame I cannot even remember her name. I only remember that she was so very kind.

I apologize. Jesha says I don’t need to put any of this in my report, but I studied literature and not report writing in college. Also, I have decided, and Jesha has agreed to let me write this report in my own way. It will NOT have bullet points.

There are two facts I want to come to light through my writing of this report.   
One: Not all Tok’ra are brave and heroic secret agents. To be clear, Jesha, my symbiote, is. I am not.   
Two: Jack O’Neill is braver than any fiction hero I’ve ever read or watched on any screen.

Could those be considered Bullet Points? Jesha says not.

Last month, unbeknownst to us, SG-1 met with a small band of Tok’ra. They met on the dark side of M4X 393, a moon orbiting, P4X 394, the planet where Jesha and I were undercover. 

P4X 394 was my first mission and it had been very simple. We were to observe and report on the activities of Arsay, a minor Goa’uld in the service of Ba’al. However, we had missed several opportunities to report, and the Tok’ra were worried, hence the meeting.

We, also, were very worried, at least I was. Arsay had on several occasions seemed suspicious of us. I confess I wanted to leave. It was only Jesha’s bravery that gave me the strength to continue. Her main argument was that Arsay seemed to be our best link to Ba’al’s plans to attack the Tok’ra. Every mission she sent her Jaffa on was an effort to locate and eliminate us. Ba’al was moving in. So we watched and waited, and hoped for an opportunity to report.

However, this plan had to be discarded rather suddenly as we learned, only moments before the Jaffa arrived, that we had been discovered. We barely escaped. 

We were running toward the stargate, hoping to gate out before we were captured, when the gate unexpectedly erupted. Suddenly we were trapped between the Jaffa and an incoming wormhole.

SG-1 appeared. I learned later that they had arrived, planning on trying to locate and retrieve us. You wouldn’t have known it by watching them though. To see them, you would have thought they had been fully prepared to repel a large force of Jaffa, so quickly did they react to their presence, and ours. 

In less than a second, Colonel O’Neill and the rest of SG-1 had analyzed the situation, and reacted; drawing their weapons, and firing as they scattered for cover. 

The Colonel himself did not take cover, but immediately placed himself between us and the pursuing Jaffa. Firing continuously, he shouted at me and practically dragged me to cover. With all the light and noise, and the fact that Jesha was also ‘shouting’ at me, I was quite confused and very thankful to have two battle hardened soldiers there to save my butt.

In seconds, Colonel O’Neill and I were behind a pile of boulders that must have fallen long ago from the cliff to which we had our backs. But I heard the Colonel swear when he realized the scarcity of our escape routes.

I was sitting with my back to a large boulder. The Colonel was firing over the top of it with one hand, with the other he kept pressure on my shoulder as if afraid I would leap up into the line of fire. Personally I had no intention of moving. Instead I watched his face intently.

I saw him analyze the situation without emotion, weighing his options and the possibility of getting all of us home unharmed. 

He and Jesha came to the same conclusion, so I was not surprised when he keyed his radio to order the rest of SG-1 home.

Major Carter argued vehemently, knowing, as we all did, that we would surely be captured: The force of Jaffa was simply too large to be defeated. There was no way for us to get to the gate alive. The other members of the team had taken cover near the gate, and would be able to escape if provided with sufficient cover fire. If they stayed, they would be captured along with us. If they left they could return and rescue us. Such was the gist of their shouted argument. 

At Jesha’s suggestion I placed my hand on the Colonel’s and requested the use of his sidearm. He handed it to me and I joined him in providing cover fire (it doesn’t matter how good of a shot you are – only that you keep shooting). So I made lots of noise, while the Colonel took out a Jaffa with almost every shot, only missing when he glanced at the gate to make certain his team escaped unharmed.

When the gate snapped shut the attention of all the Jaffa was immediately diverted to us. They had just lost more than half of their targets and were determined not to return to Arsay empty handed. The Colonel continued to eliminate an impressive number of our enemy, resorting to grenades as well as his P-90, but we were eventually surrounded and he was forced to drop his weapon.

We were roughly hauled back through the wilderness to Arsay’s prison. It was during this time that I first learned of the Colonel’s indomitable spirit. In spite of the likelihood of imminent torture and probable death, he baited and teased the Jaffa continuously; even when all he received for his efforts were several bruises and even rougher handling than I. 

I was forced to wonder if that was his intention. The Jaffa certainly paid little attention to me. I also wondered if he would be as spirited if he knew where we were headed.

I had seen the prison before and had loathed the idea of ever being on the wrong side of its bars. There was only one large room. Prisoners were kept under control by having one wrist fastened to the wall by means of a metal bracelet that was deeply imbedded in the wall itself about a foot above their heads. Attached to the wall in this way, prisoners retained enough freedom of movement to eat and drink and perform other necessities. However, we were unable to walk, sit, or move more than a few inches in any direction, certainly not enough to touch each other. It was a truly uncomfortable existence.

But it was an existence we were to endure for longer than I care to think about. 

The Colonel and I were thrown roughly into this prison and secured there. We knew nothing else for many days. 

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

oO0Oo  
Report 83646 – Chapter 2  
oO0Oo _._

 

There was torture.

If it needs to be documented, then you will have to read the Colonel’s report, **when** he writes it. (I won’t say ‘if…’) I will not tell of it. I will only say that I believe, from what I could see of his increased injuries from day to day, he suffered the same as I. So if you need to know what they did. Ask him. He’s military – they probably have a form for it. Also, from things he said I know he’s been tortured before – more than once. So I assume he knows what to put in a report. I do not. I will not tell you.

The only difference between his experience at the hands of the Jaffa and mine was that I have a symbiote. He doesn’t.

Jesha protected me. I have never known her to work harder. She kept from me as much of the pain as she possibly could and healed me as quickly as her strength would allow; Suffering double herself in the process.

She worked to protect me, and understand- she is my life’s partner.

I believe he worked harder to protect me than she did.

He kept his spirits up, cracking jokes as they dragged him back bleeding, bruised and in pain. He made fun of them as they hooked him up again to that awful bracelet.

He actually made me smile.

I have to admit that I saw the strength he drew from my smile and I did my best to laugh at his jokes as best I could. It seemed to help him… for a time.

After the sixth or seventh day I knew his injuries were to the extent that he was dying. I think he knew it too, although he would never let on.

There was no other possible outcome. Arsay does not currently have a sarcophagus.

For the first four days, he had me truly believing that SG-1 would come and save the day. He talked a lot of his team’s resourcefulness and dedication.

However, on the fifth day Arsay’s ship took off and I began to doubt. How could they possibly find us in the endlessness of space?

I don’t think the Colonel even knew we were on a ship. It took off and we felt it enter hyperspace.   For a split second I saw, on his face, a kind of despair. Not the kind you get when you have given up hope, but the kind that makes you say, “Well, This just got a whole lot harder.”

 

oO0Oo

 

Between ‘sessions,’ we did our best to rest and heal. We were provided with some food and drink. It was so disgusting; I couldn’t look at it for the first two days. By the fourth, it started to look palatable. In the end I ate it gladly.

I just realized I keep talking about what day it was. In truth I can only remember what day it was until about the sixth day. After that it all runs together. The Colonel wouldn’t let me do any kind of time keeping. He said it was because we didn’t need it – we wouldn’t be there long enough. I think it was because he knew it would be better in the end if the days did run together; better if I didn’t know how long we had been there. And, to tell the truth, I’m really glad I didn’t know at the time that we were there for almost three weeks.

How he held on I’ll never know, but he did.

After many days at Arsay’s hands, he no longer joked when they brought him back. Most often he was unconscious. When he woke up he was always apologetic, as if he had been rude to me. Then he would do everything he could to distract me from his injuries and from my own.

And so, not being able to do anything else, we talked.

One of our favorite “topics of distraction” was our friends. For some reason, the Colonel seemed to particularly enjoy any story I could tell of one of my Tok’ra friends making some ordinary everyday blunder. I came up with as many as I could, and Jesha contributed more stories from before my time.

For my part, I loved to hear him tell of the other members of SG-1.

He instructed me for hours one night of the fine art of interpreting Teal’c’s many and varied facial expressions. I heard about all the ways there are to raise one eyebrow (an honored skill) or two, or glare, or do both together. The head incline was a specialty. Apparently there is a great deal of difference in meaning according to degree of inclination and direction. But through it all, even (especially) during his somewhat silly descriptions there was always an undercurrent of deep respect for the former First Prime. I knew beyond a doubt that the Colonel shared a bond of brotherhood with his fellow warrior that went far too deep to ever be described with mere words. When the well finally ran dry I found myself quiet in respect for a friendship I could never know how to attain.

Another night I was trying to make light of the session I had just endured by complaining that Arsay had tried to talk me to death. The Colonel smiled and shook his head, and told me the story of Daniel Jackson.

I have to admit I was fascinated. I heard his story, one full of love, innocence (if that is the right word) and loss and incredible bravery, but I also heard the undercurrents. Yes, there was irritation, but there was also love, and loyalty. He reminded me of a friend I had growing up: a young man who lived next door. He and his little brother had lost their parents and he had become his brother’s guardian. The younger boy meant the world to him, although he would never admit it, preferring instead to tease and annoy him endlessly. The little brother knew the truth though. I assumed Daniel did as well.

Major Carter was the only one he never spoke of at length. Referring to her only, as he did to all of them, with comments like, “If Carter were here…” He always fell silent for a while afterward.

Another thing we often talked about – or talked ‘around’ as the Colonel would say, was the subject of the questioning. From him, Arsay wanted the Codes. The Codes with a capital C – the Colonel would joke. He told me he loved the look on her face whenever he began singing the ABC song.

He never told me what they were – wouldn’t even say what they were for. He only talked about what they weren’t and following his example I talked about many locations the Tok’ra weren’t: Disney World, Santa’s workshop, the 100 Acre Wood… He looked at me with pride when I was sarcastic. For a long time it was the hope of making him proud of me that made me retort sarcastically to her instead of telling her the coordinates of our home; Even when it meant only more pain.

 

oO0Oo

 

Jesha and I had been correct in our original assumptions. Ba’al had charged Arsay with finding the current Tok’ra base. He had made her many grand promises if she succeeded and terrible threats if she failed.

She had made the mistake of bragging that she had captured us. Now she had to deliver. Only we weren’t cooperating.

I have only one memory from this time that does not make me nauseous. One day I was watching the Jaffa drag the Colonel back from a session. He looked to me to be even worse off than usual. They clipped him into his bracelet beside me and left him hanging. They spit on him. They thought him weak.

But as soon as they were gone, he slowly looked up into my worried face and grinned. I will say I believe it was the biggest grin I have ever seen on anyone.

He looked like a kid who just got exactly what he wanted under the Christmas tree. He slowly held up, as if for my approval, a rough piece of metal that had a sharp edge; a “shiv”, he proudly explained. That night, we celebrated.

How he got it, he never told me. It wouldn’t cut through or open the bracelets, but “once he had a chance…”

That was all he ever told me.

He spoke so certainly, as if all our problems would now be solved; if only the right circumstances presented themselves. The shiv was so small I voiced some doubt that it could do much against a Jaffa. He said you had to know how to use it.

He never elaborated. I know he intended to use it to get us out of there. I imagine he meant to kill with it, kill the Jaffa, Arsay if he had the opportunity… but he was still protecting me; even after all this, he still felt there were things I hadn’t seen, hadn’t suffered. It frightens me to think he might be right.

I knew without a doubt that there were things he had seen, things he had done of which he wanted me to be ignorant. Things he planned to do again if necessary.

As it was he got his ‘chance;’ just not how he imagined.

TBC **...**


	3. Chapter 3

A/N - this is my favorite thing I've ever written (so far) - sorry this chapter is short...

oO0Oo  
Report 83646 – Chapter 3 (the darkness is coming)  
oO0Oo

  

The next day, he came back much later than usual. And he was much worse off as well. Apparently there had been no ‘opportunity’ yet.

 When he finally woke he was still not quite thinking clearly and so I began asking him questions, trying to ground him in the here and now. It wasn’t working too well, so I decided now was the time to ask about Major Carter.

He stared off for awhile until I was afraid I had chosen poorly. Then he began to speak. There was a softness to his voice that I had not heard before. As he spoke about her amazing intelligence, her toughness, her excellence as a second in command, and her many, _many_ abilities as both a scientist and an air force officer (I finally began to wonder if he exaggerated – found out later – nope) again I heard undercurrents. The respect was there, the loyalty, and the friendship bordering on family, but there was something else too. Out of curiosity, afraid I was overstepping my bounds, I asked, “So is she pretty?”

 “Beautiful.” He answered without thinking. I just smiled. Now I knew what the ‘something else’ was.

 After that day Arsay lost interest in him. Maybe she realized he would never talk. Maybe she was just running out of time and decided to cut her losses. Either way, she began to focus on me.

 With Jesha’s help, there is little I remember from that time. In fact, the only image I can bring to mind is the Colonel’s face. Every time I returned to consciousness he was there, helping me in any way he could think of. Going purely by the look on his face, he actually seemed more tortured during this time than at any other during our internment.

 To my shame, he did finally get the opportunity to use his shiv.

 I vaguely recall there being one night that he and Jesha had a long talk. I was in too much pain to be paying attention. The only reason I noticed at all was that the Colonel seemed to be very upset- angry in fact, and he was protesting something rather loudly. What I couldn’t figure out, was what could be so upsetting. They were talking about things like tourniquets, travel times, and healing devices – especially healing devices. The Colonel was very insistent about them for some reason. I also remember being puzzled by the desperation in the Colonel’s voice; desperation to get me out of there; to keep us, the Tok’ra and Earth from Ba’al.

 I was to understand their discussion very soon.

The next session I endured, was by far the worst.

 I broke.

 Arsay had for a long time been making me incredible promises if only I would tell her one little thing. Again and again she promised me relief. During this particular session, the Jaffa worked for so long and were so brutal I finally had to make it stop. All I knew was that it was in my power to end my pain. She had finally succeeded in erasing all else from my mind.

 That is no excuse.

 The pain that I caused, for Colonel O’Neill, for so many others that I care about, and ultimately for myself far exceeded anything she could do to me in that torture chamber.

 TBC...  
  
Please leave a review if you are so inclined...

 


	4. Chapter 4

oO0Oo  
Report 83646 – Chapter 4  
oO0Oo

 

This time when I regained consciousness he was busily tying a tourniquet around his secured arm as high as he could reach. He had removed a bootlace, and was using his free hand and his teeth to make it tight.

When I questioned him in some alarm, he almost seemed angry.

“Jesha!” he protested, “She’s not supposed to be awake yet.”

Jesha responded calmly, “Colonel, she is strong. And she needs to know what is coming, what she will be called upon to do.”

“What?” I gasped, “What will I be called upon to do?”

He looked at me as Jesha explained.

Then he actually managed to grin at me and said, “THIS is gonna make a great story! 10 o’clock news! Headlines! Well... it would… if… you know. And besides - Jesha _promised_ me a healing device!”

“Colonel!” I cried in spite of Jesha’s explanation as he pulled out his shiv and, unbelievably, began to cut into his wrist between the bracelet and the tourniquet.

He pulled the shiv away from the small slice that was dribbling blood down his arm and looked at me sympathetically, “Hey kiddo, this is probably going to be worse for you than it is for me. My arm has been numb for days. I won’t feel a thing,” he lied. “Arsay is going after the Tok’ra just as soon as she can get her army on the move. We _gotta_ get there first. And besides that, I have no interest is seeing you meet ‘ole Bocce Ba’al either.” He took a deep breath to continue and coughed as his broken ribs protested. “We’re leaving, just as soon as I can get us out of here. The ONLY job you have is…” he smiled wryly, “Well, I need you to hold my hand.”

And with that he turned and very calmly began to saw away at his own flesh and bone.

“WHAT?!” I screamed at him. I wanted him to stop. Nothing was this desperate. He would certainly die.

Jesha calmed me down before our rather bored Jaffa guards could react and began to explain the situation. _This_ was what they had been discussing late that night. Both she and the Colonel had realized that things were getting desperate. Desperate measures were called for. The Colonel knew, and Jesha had learned from me, the story of the hiker, trapped with his arm caught under a boulder. He had chosen amputation rather than death. Was this any different?

Jesha then comforted me by pointing out that there was much more than one man’s life at stake. Plus, Jack had an advantage the hiker didn’t. If we brought his severed hand with us, there was a good chance that it could be reattached through the use of a healing device.

“That hiker was an otherwise healthy person.” I angrily pointed out, “Can you say the same?” The man who was to be my savior had broken bones, internal injuries, probably a concussion along with several more exotic injuries caused by various Goa’uld implements of torture.

“And,” I continued, my voice taking on a hysterical edge, “He didn’t have to fight his way out of that canyon.”

The Colonel, for his part, only grunted, as he continued to work, blood spattering all over the wall and himself. The sound of metal grating against bone and the resulting crack was almost enough to make me throw up.

Jesha would have stared me down if she could have.

In their silence they were both asking me, ‘Do you have a better idea?’

I didn’t. I had better ‘suck it up’ and quick.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he sliced through the last bit of skin and collapsed to the floor breathing hard. He faced away from me, his shoulder against the wall, his arm cradled tightly against his body. Blood still flowed from his wrist in the bracelet above him, running down the wall and dripping onto him. I swallowed against the nausea.

Tears streamed down my face as I wished for some way to help him. All I could do, finally, was NOT be a burden to him.

I watched him carefully, and even from behind I believe I could see it as he allowed himself a moment to be weak, and then straightened his shoulders against his coming task. That physical action portrayed the internal one as he forced his considerable pain to the background and ignored it. He then slowly stood, still facing away from me, and forced himself to lower his arms to his sides, focusing instead on what his next obstacle would be.

I stared at the horrific stump. At least his tourniquet seemed to be effective as he was barely bleeding anymore.

When he turned to me his face was a mask of cold determination. So, I hoped, was mine. I must have succeeded in part because I saw a glimmer of approval in his eyes.

He took two shaky steps over to me. “One.” He spoke, his voice gravelly, “I take out those guards, get the key and come for you. Two. We find the ring room and get off this ship. Three. We go help your Tok’ra buddies pack and you can put Humpty back together again.”

I nodded, simply assuming he knew how to do all of that one handed, and he moved to the cell door. He concealed himself just out of sight of the guards and nodded to me. I screamed long and loud enough to bring the guards out of their bored stupor. I screamed the truth. It was a catharsis for me, and I actually may have overdone it because I didn’t stop until the Colonel put his good hand over my mouth.

“I think that did it, Gina.” His eyes twinkled a bit, a cold shadow of their former energy. He reached up and unlocked my bracelet. I hugged him (gently) in celebration. Then I pulled off my over tunic, a loose shirt I wore over a stretchy one piece garment. Glancing at him, (he was _not_ watching) I turned, reached up and trying not to cringe, gently worked the pale and mistreated appendage out of its restraint. I wrapped it carefully in my shirt and tucked it inside the waist of my under tunic. Turning back, our eyes met and he took my hand and pulled me to the still empty gateway.

Once he determined the way was clear, he turned to me, “Can you find the ring room?”

I nodded, that was easy. “What if there isn’t a planet in range?”

He looked at me, exasperated, “Carter? Did Carter teach you to think like that? Or maybe Daniel! Yeah, that’s it.” He guided me ahead of him and pushed me down the hall, still muttering to himself, “yeah – Carter hardly ever does that to me anymore, must be Daniel.”

We made it to the ring room fairly easily. We had not proved much of a threat so far, and Jaffa off duty on their own ship are not terribly wary. The Colonel, I learned was just as good at avoiding the enemy as he was at confronting them.

As we approached the ring room there were two Jaffa on duty; much more alert and problematic than the others.

The Colonel drew me back a ways, “I’ll take out the Jaffa. You find us a planet and just let me know when it’s time to be in the circle.”

“Find us a planet?” I asked incredulously.

“Find us a planet.” He said simply, giving me an Other-people-think-it’s-impossible-but-I-know-you-can-do-it look. Guess that must be why he’s a Colonel – he made me believe I could.

“Okay.”

As I found out, we had already entered the system where Ba’al had taken up residence. It would be a simple thing to gate to the only planet within range: Ba’al’s home world.

I entered the coordinates and looked up to tell the Colonel. I was just in time to see the remaining Jaffa pull a knife from the Colonel’s side. As he collapsed, I let – more like screamed for Jesha to take over and she used the element of surprise and a double booted kick to knock the Jaffa clear out of the room.

We grabbed the Colonel and pulled him into the circle just in time to be ringed down to the remotest part of Ba’al’s palace.  

 TBC...


	5. Chapter 5

oO0Oo  
Report 83646 – Chapter 5  
oO0Oo

 

We grabbed the Colonel and pulled him into the circle just in time to be ringed down to the remotest part of Ba’al’s palace.  

Once free of the rings I immediately leapt to the control console and transported us to another location, and then again in an effort to confuse our pursuers.

We ended up in an outbuilding; a storage room really. There were the rings and a communications board, but little else. The Colonel was just getting up. “Colonel!” I protested, “Lie still.”

 “I’m fine.” He coughed and wheezed, “Where are we?”

 I told him.

 “Can you change the radio frequency and code it to SGC channels?”

 I frowned.

 “Carter, Daniel, Teal’c, they knew where we were;… who Arsay was. It’s just possible they’re here, or have at least made contact with some friendlies. You’ve got Tok’ra operatives here don’t you?”

 My hands, or really, Jesha’s (she’s much better at this stuff) were already moving over the controls. I did not mention that after his initial effort, he had not risen past his sitting position other than to gingerly slide sideways out of the circle.

 Jesha began cautiously trying to hail SG-1. She also sent a message that was coded and could be retrieved by the appropriate operative.

 “We cannot stay here long.” She warned him.

 The Colonel’s head drooped; his arm was once again cradled against his chest. “Just give it a minute?”

 We gave it three.

 A burst of static came from the console, “…SG-1… this is Daniel… Jack? Was that you?”

 We had moved to support him, but at the sound. Jesha leapt to the call button. The Colonel slowly laid his head back against the cool stone floor. I wanted so badly to move back to his side, but Jesha was telling Daniel as clearly and quickly as possible that he needed to contact the Tok’ra immediately; that Arsay was already on her way.   She then continued by requesting immediate medical assistance for Jack and me.

“And bring a healing device if at all possible.”

 “Sam and Teal’c are on the planet. I’ll contact them, but Jacob tells me we have to move out of orbit to send a message to the Tok’ra.” He paused, apparently to listen to something Jacob Carter was telling him. “Stay on this channel if you can, but don’t worry - we’ll find you. Um… over and out.”

 I dropped to my knees beside the Colonel. It seemed that Daniel’s voice had released everything he had worked so hard to hold back. Then I realized: he had completed his mission. The Tok’ra had been warned; I was okay and would soon be rescued. He was done.

 It frightened me.

 I tried humor, “You don’t look so good, Colonel.”

 He did try to smile, but it was more of a grimace and he did not open his eyes.

I tried again, “I still need you.”

 “You’ll be fine.” He whispered, “You did good.”

 “I failed.”

 At that he did open his eyes and look into mine. “You did good.” He repeated. “You faced…” he licked dry cracked lips and tried again, “I know a lot of mean old soldiers, fully trained to resist that, they couldn’t’a done what you did; and then do what needed to be done after… You did good. Never let me down…” his voice faded.

The speech seemed to exhaust him further so I did not answer. I put pressure on the knife wound as best I could, knowing that I was also putting pressure on broken ribs. He only grunted.

 Fifteen minutes later he was either asleep or unconscious. We kept watch as best we could. It was maddening to be so close to help – Ba’al even had a sarcophagus!

 – It was not until much later that I learned of the Colonel’s feelings toward _that_ idea.

 I had just left the window after scanning our surroundings and returned to my place by the Colonel’s side, when the door burst open. Jesha whirled, ready to fight off anyone who tried to capture or harm the Colonel. But instead we found ourself face to muzzle with Major Carter’s P-90.

“Major!” Jesha cried in relief.

“Colonel!” Major Carter cried in shock.

They spoke at the same time. To her credit, she did not ignore us, just catalogued my injuries and reaffirmed her first impression (and we agreed) that the Colonel needed her more. She dropped to his side and began to pull first aid supplies from her pack.

 At the sound of her shout, the Colonel had opened his eyes a bit, and frowned, “Carter?” he whispered.

 “Yes, Sir, Teal’c and I are here, Daniel’s in the Alkesh with Dad. We’re fine; Gina’s going to be okay. And so are you.” She completed the report she knew he wanted and continued to work quickly. His nod was barely perceptible and he closed his eyes.

Teal’c pulled out his first aid kit and began to tend to my own injuries.

 I watched the Major work. She was running her hands over his body. It was difficult to tell where the actual wounds were, there was so much blood. She was considerably paler than she had been when she walked in. She was working as quickly and as gently as possible under the circumstances.

 She turned to me, tears barely noticeable in her eyes. “Gina?”

 “Knife wound, lower right side,” I prompted. And she touched him there, found the wound and began to bandage it. The stump where the Colonel’s strong hand and long fingers should have been was not actually bleeding much, and so I was impressed with her ability to ignore it as long as she did.

 When she did begin to bandage it, she looked to me for an explanation.

 I have to pause here to give Major Carter full marks. If our places had been reversed, I would have been frantic and panicking. As it was, Major Carter assessed what needed to be done and did it, with no regard for her personal feelings.

 Teal’c, who had been bandaging my own wounds, spoke before I could answer her: “GinaThelman, do you have a wound here?” He had come to the bloody bulge under my tunic and he was puzzled.

 I did not answer, only reached inside and removed the awful bundle and handed it to the Major, “I’m sorry. It was the only way he could get us out. With a healing device…”

 She held it for a moment, wide-eyed at the implication of my words. Then she nodded and placed the bundle gently inside her pack. She reached for her radio, “Dad?” her voice shook the tiniest bit, “You back yet?”

 “Yes, Sam, we are just coming into range-“

 “Dad, we need to get up there fast. The Colonel needs a healing device, now!”

 “We’ll have you up in a minute. How is he?” The inevitable question came.

 Major Carter looked around at each of us before she answered, “We need to get up there now, Dad.”

 Suddenly, Teal’c, who had been bandaging my wrist, jerked up his head and looked sharply at me. I was about to speak when I realized he wasn’t looking at me at all; He was listening intently.

 “Majorcarter!”

 “Now. Dad!”

 The Jaffa were almost at the door. I helped the Major move Colonel O’Neill back into the circle while Teal’c pointed his staff at the door, and moved with us.

 The door burst open and Jaffa poured in just as the rings took us.

TBC...

Please review if the story has caught your interest, thank-you.


	6. Chapter 6

oO0Oo  
Report 83646 – Chapter 6  
oO0Oo

Once aboard the alkesh, Selmak immediately put us into hyperspace before Ba’al’s gliders could reach us.

Daniel approached, his face full of concern. He knelt on the other side of Jack and looked at Sam. 

“He did it himself! To escape.” She whispered.

Daniel couldn’t believe it.

“Gina says we can…” she swallowed, “reattach it with a healing device.”

“He did this?”

Jesha spoke. “Contact has been made with the Tok’ra?”

Daniel nodded, “They’re evacuating.”

We nodded, “There isn’t much time. With the tourniquet, the cells are dying. We must get to a healing device before it is too late.”

Trying to help them deal with their shock, Jesha continued, “The Colonel and I discussed it at length. There were no other options under the circumstances. He felt it was necessary for our survival and that of the Tok’ra. He was vehement that we not be taken by Ba’al.”

Major Carter nodded and went to speak with her father, presumably about the quickest route to Earth.

Daniel placed a folded blanket under the deeply unconscious Colonel’s head and finished bandaging some minor wounds, gently wiping away blood as he went.

Teal’c placed his hand on my back, prepared to continue with my own bandages.

“It’s okay, Teal’c, Jesha will take care of me. I just need some place to lie down.”

He inclined his head. I smiled – that one meant, ‘as you wish.’ Then he led me to a bench. 

“Wake me if there’s any change, please.”

“Indeed, I will.”

As it turned out, Jesha ensured that I knew little of what went on for the next twenty-four hours.

oO0Oo

“How much longer, Dad?”

“It’s two hours to the nearest planet with a Stargate. How’s Jack?”

“He’s lost a lot of blood; his pulse is weak, but fairly steady. His arm…”

“I know kiddo. But Jesha’s right. I’ve actually healed an amputation once before. As long as it hasn’t… Do we know how long it’s been?”

“No. And Gina’s out. Jesha’s healing her now.”

Jacob nodded. “We’re going as fast as we can.”

oO0Oo

Once they reached the planet, they ringed down right in front of the ‘gate. Carter ran to the DHD to dial and send the code. Jacob and Daniel gently picked up Jack while Teal’c carried Gina through the puddle and into the waiting arms of the SGC medical staff.

Gina was placed into an infirmary bed and left to heal with all the medical support Janet could provide.

Jack was surrounded by a flurry of activity. IVs and medications were being administered liberally. Units of blood were hung and vitals taken and retaken. Carter maneuvered her way to the head of his bed and was surprised to see him awake.

“Sir?”

“I hate this part.” His voice was barely audible through all the activity.

Carter smiled gently and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Dad thinks it’ll work. Says he’s done it before.” She knew he would understand what she was referring to: his self inflicted, career ending injury – at least the active part.

“Doesn’ matter” he slurred.

“Sir?”

“Had to. No other way.” He glanced up into her worried eyes, barely able to keep his own open. “S’okay, Carter.”

She noticed her father and Janet in deep discussion. “Be right back, Sir.”

But Jack was already unconscious.

Janet gave Sam a tight smile and moved to the Colonel’s bedside with new orders.

Jacob turned to his daughter. “Due to the length of time that has passed, we feel that a combination of surgery and the healing device will give him the best chance. They have to take him into surgery to stop the bleeding anyway, so…”

Sam nodded. And, seeing the Colonel was already being wheeled into surgery, moved to join the rest of SG-1where they waited, off to the side, out of the way.

oO0Oo

Twenty-four hours later, there was a very different scene in the infirmary. First of all, it was very quiet.

Gina, now fully recovered, was sitting in a chair in the corner looking nervous. She had been typing her report on a borrowed laptop for the last two hours, but now that laptop was being held by Daniel who was reading said report.

Teal’c was standing at the foot of the Colonel’s bed having a hushed conversation with Carter who was seated at the side, her hand resting gently on her CO’s.

Colonel O’Neill remained unconscious. His newly repaired arm rested across his chest. They could see a scar where the layers of bandages had been removed as they were no longer necessary.

“Did not DoctorFrasier say he would be awake by this time?”

Sam nodded, then shook her head, “Should’ve been hours ago.”

“Perhaps he merely needs more time to recover.”

She nodded again. “He’s had three sessions with Selmak and the healing device. They’re confident his hand will have full sensation and range of motion, but we won’t be sure until he wakes up and tells us.”

Daniel moved to sit next to Gina, resting the laptop between them. She looked more nervous than ever.

“Is it okay? I’ve never written one before.”

“Oh yeah! It’s fine – great actually. I can tell you’re an English major.” He smiled. “It reads like fiction.” He shook his head, “I wish it was.”

They were quiet for a moment, as Daniel figured out the best way to broach a tender subject.

“You were right, you know…”

She looked at him questioningly.

“I do know. Jack can be a pain… but he’s a good man – the best. I respect him a great deal – just don’t tell him.”

Gina smiled.

“And while we’re talking about secrets…” his eyebrows rose and fell, then looked quickly at Gina when she gave a little giggle.

She shook her head, thinking of the Colonel’s descriptions, “Nothing”

“You noticed that there is, well, something between Sam and Jack.”

“I thought it was pretty obvious.”

Daniel smiled, “Yeah, well, I’m not actually sure how much they realize it themselves.”

“You’re kidding. I figured it was an established thing.”

“Nooo. Noo. You see that would be bad.”

“Why?”

“It’s against the rules.”

“What rules?”

“Air Force rules. Military rules.”

“That’s stupid.”

“Well, in general, it’s a good rule… But Sam and Jack, well there can’t be any exceptions.”

Light dawned in Gina’s eyes, “I better take that out then.”

“Yeah, it might-“

Suddenly they both turned at the sound of Carter’s voice. She spoke softly and gently. “Hey, Colonel, how’re you feeling?”

Daniel and Gina moved to his side as well. So it was that the first sight that greeted the Colonel was the sight of his team and Gina, looking a whole lot better than she had the last time he saw her.

“Hey-“ he rasped and Sam gave him a sip of water.

He looked up at her. “Thanks.” He paused to rest, “Nice choice of words, Carter.” He whispered.

She smiled. They all held their breath as he slowly raised his left hand a bit and moved one finger at a time.

“Pretty good, huh?”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

oO0Oo

Well, as they say, everybody lived happily ever after. 

When Jesha completed my healing, I learned that everyone was very concerned because the Colonel had not yet awoken. His recovery was not going as hoped.

It still isn’t, actually. He’s pretty pissed about it, too. His strength has been very slow in returning, there’s something wrong with his bloodwork. I think it has something to do with the tools Arsay used. Jesha agrees, but without access to her devices there’s not much anyone can do about it. He is slowly improving.

At least his hand is working. Selmak says he believes it will return to 100% with physical therapy and another go or two with the healing device.

Soon I will travel to the new Tok’ra base. It will be good to be home.

This morning, I said goodbye to Sam and Daniel and Teal’c. They are everything the Colonel said. And I saw in each of them that the bond of friendship and family is fully returned.

Now I will head down to the infirmary and say goodbye to the Colonel and turn this in.

I hope that this report is a tribute to his courage, and his willingness to sacrifice himself, but even more than that;

To his ability to face unbeatable odds…

And beat them.

Thank-you, Colonel, for everything.

End.

 

oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo

Okay. As promised, this story has a bit of backstory. You may be familiar with the story of Aron Ralston, the hiker who became trapped while on a hike in a Utah canyon. A boulder rolled and pinned his forearm to the wall. After three days of trying more typical means of escape, he decided to amputate part of his arm in order to free himself. He had not told anyone where exactly he would be hiking and so he could not expect to be rescued. He used a multi-tool, something like a Swiss Army knife, and then hiked out to safety. Of course, he had no alien friends to help him so he now has an artificial limb. It has not however, slowed him down. He says there are rock climbing holds he can achieve with his new limb that he couldn’t do before. 

Anyway, my husband, who often makes suggestions for my stories, came across an article about Ralston one night. “You should have this happen to Jack!”

Well, it was thought provoking, but there was the problem of who would tell the story. I couldn’t imagine Jack being moved to that desperate of an action if his team was with him, and if he were alone he would never tell the story – at least not in sufficient detail to satisfy us. And so Gina was born. I don’t usually write original characters unless they serve a specific purpose. I hope Gina did her job well enough for you.

Thanks for reading, and please review if you have the time.  
Thanks! PapayaK


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